[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for NCIS Season 21 Episode 9 “Prime Cut.”]
Turns out Special Agent Nick Torres is a horse whisperer. We spoke with Wilmer Valderrama about his character’s hidden talent, revealed in tonight’s trip-to-Texas episode, and how it relates to the actor’s real life in the latest installment of NCIS: Case Closed, our weekly aftershow.
“I’ve been a horse fanatic since I was a little boy. I grew up in Venezuela riding horses my whole life since I was very, very little. So having an opportunity to just get back in the saddle, if you will, was very exciting,” Valderrama told us.
It’s just a warm-up for the horsemanship Valderrama’s tackling next. “I’m going to start training for some really complex riding very soon for other things and other dreams of mine, as you can imagine what I’m talking about,” says the actor, who is set to star in the Disney+ reimagining of Zorro. “The funniest joke about it was that the horse that was my stunt horse, its name was Zorro! We were like, what the hell just happened here? My worlds were colliding. So it was like these signs that tell you that something’s happening for a reason.”
That upcoming project won’t require Torres to leave the bullpen. Valderrama has no plans to leave NCIS, saying, “NCIS has been and will be my home for a while.” The actor is especially excited for what’s coming up next for Torres and his colleague Knight (Katrina Law), whose matching love of risk-taking and easy banter make for great teamwork, as seen in tonight’s episode. (We love so many of the duo’s moments together!)
“We are continuing to cultivate that relationship between Torres and Knight,” Valderrama says. “Torres is going to be very instrumental in the rebirth of Special Agent Knight. And I can’t tell you much more because the finale is going to be very definitive and it’s going to do a reconstruction and deconstruction of what you think you knew about her. And eventually, Torres will take a different role. Torres might end up being a major influence on her in that next chapter. The season finale is going to dictate a lot of what’s going to be dynamically between these two for next year.”
Watch the video above to hear more from Valderrama on Knight and Torres, the episode’s Yellowstone vibes, and what line was ad-libbed. Come back every week to hear from the people who make the show. Next time, we’ll discuss the season finale with Brian Dietzen.
NCIS, Mondays, 9/8c, CBS